Acquisitive South Coast-based wealth manager and financial adviser Skerritts has made its second acquisition this week with the purchase of London-based Black Swan Financial Planning.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, adds £540m of assets under management to Skerrits which is headed by former Quilter CEO Paul Feeney.

Established in 2000, Black Swan works with private clients across the South East of England.

Earlier this week Skerritts acquired £400m AUM Surrey Financial Planning firm KMG Independent Limited and its sister firm KMG Investment Management Limited.

Paul Hutton, managing director of Black Swan, said his firm had been actively looking to become part of a larger Financial Planning business.

He said: “We have spent considerable time looking at companies that would complement us and ensure we are able to continue to offer a great range of services to our clients with the extra resources and benefits that being part of a larger group will bring. 

“Skerritts will help us invest in and grow the business and ensure our valued clients will be well looked after going forwards.”

Skerritts is a Chartered Financial Adviser and wealth manager based in Hove.

In March 2021, private equity firm Sovereign Capital Partners, invested £55m in Skerritts to develop the business through organic and acquisitive growth. The strategy has seen new offices added in Kent, Hampshire and London.

The today’s acquisition increases the number of deals that the Skerritts Group has completed since the Sovereign investment up to 10. It is also the fourth deal since CEO Paul Feeney, formerly CEO of Quilter, arrived at the firm as CEO.

Last December Skerritts bought £230m AUM Financial Planning firm Chadwick McLean, which is based in Chester.

In September 2023 Skerritts Group acquired Kent-based Chartered Financial Planning firm Ambrose Fisher, adding £62m in AUM to the group.

In March Skerritts acquired Horsham-based Financial Planner Mercier Allen & Associates, adding £73m of assets under management. In January 2023, another acquisition was announced with the purchase of Kent-based Financial Planning Firm, Equinox Wealth Limited, which brought another £62 million of AUM. In 2022, Skerritts completed four acquisitions.

Skerritts has about 50 staff serving 35,000 clients.

Buyside assistance for the Black Swan acquisition was provided by Dyer Baade, BDO, Thistle and Pinsent Masons.